Error: Unable to create directory /home/demockra/public_html/wp-content/uploads/2010/09. Is its parent directory writable by the server? Fiscal Implications of Illegal Immigration

Unlike a few years ago, there has been relatively little talk about illegal immigration in the last two years. With both presidential candidates holding similar views, there was rarely a mention during the recent campaign. In 2008, Jeffrey Passel, a senior demographer at the non-partisan research organization, Pew Hispanic Center (PHC), reported that there has been virtually no growth in the illegal immigration population to the United States since 2006. The reason is likely because of the recession and the lack of jobs in the United States. While the poor economy is currently thwarting illegal immigrants from entering the U.S., there are still critical fiscal problems caused by illegal immigration that cannot be totally ignored.

The Issue

The PHC estimates that there to be about 12 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States.  In 2004, 49% of illegal immigrants were high school dropouts as opposed to 21% for legal immigrants and 11% for natives.  Low education often leads to low-skill jobs and low pay and thus an inability to climb the economic ladder of success and pay a higher share of taxes.

In addition, legal taxpayers are paying for many illegal immigrants health care bills. Since many illegal immigrants are below the federal poverty line, they often have to rely on social services such as uncompensated health care which is predominantly funded by cost-shifting to legal taxpayers with insurance. In Texas, the state controller estimated that illegal immigrants cost hospitals $1.3 billion in 2006. In California, a 2004 study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform put the state’s annual cost at $1.4 billion. In Colorado and Minnesota for 2005, the costs were estimated to be $31 million and $17 million respectively.

Although some illegal immigrants do pay taxes to the government, the Census Bureau found in 2002 that households headed by illegal immigrants used $10 billion more in government services than they paid in taxes.  According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the total K-12 school costs for illegal immigrants costs the nation nearly $12 billion annually, and when the children born to illegal immigrants were added, the costs go up to $28.6 billion.  This is problematic at a time when states are cutting public school budgets and laying off teachers, students are often overcrowded in classrooms, and some schools are even thinking of changing the five day school week to four days due to lack of funds.

Possible Solutions

One possible solution to decrease illegal immigration is to make it simpler to enter and stay in the U.S. legally. Currently, the estimated waiting period to get a Permanent Residency Card is three years. On average, a person has to stand in government lines for a total of 45 hours to obtain a Permanent Residency card.  There either has to be less paperwork or more people need to be hired to move the paperwork in the process.

In order to stop the flow of illegal immigration, it must be physically impossible for illegals to enter the U.S. And in order for that to happen, the borders must be secured with precision. All United States borders must be secured with manpower trained to inspect and detect illegal immigrants. The government must make it a priority for the safety of its citizens to secure all borders. As such, there needs to be more funding and training for Homeland Security.

Additionally, anyone applying for a visa should be screened for criminal history in their native country before receiving a visa. Foreigners with temporary visas should be fingerprinted, with the information saved in computers, to be checked if they are overstaying their permitted time period. Once an illegal immigrant is identified, deportation must be carried out in an efficient, yet fair manner. It is therefore necessary for better cooperation between federal and state government agencies. In addition, foreign diplomacy must be culturally sensitive and humane.

For those illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. and are identified, there should be a priority list of who gets deported first based upon criteria such as knowledge of the English language, whether there is an economic need for their services, how long they have lived in the U.S., and how many family members are currently citizens.

Amnesty should be granted to some illegal immigrants because of the fiscal and logistical constraints to mass deportation. If it saves time, resources, and money to keep many illegal immigrants in the U.S. as opposed to deporting them,  then they should be permitted to stay in the U.S. These illegal immigrants would be given temporary amnesty and the opportunity to file for legal permanent residency as long as they met a certain predefined set of rules. In Britain, the Institute for Public Policy Research found that it would save Britain $4.7 billion pounds in deportation costs and raise $1 billion pounds in taxes if they did not deport their illegal immigrant population (assuming they had the ability to do so).  The Center for American Progress estimates that it would cost $41 billion to deport the over 10 million illegal residents in the U.S.

The U.S. needs to make it a priority to prevent illegal immigration and encourage legal immigration. In order to do this, the government must increase intelligence, border security, investigation, outreach, and interstate and foreign diplomacy. It must be evident that coming to the U.S. illegally is a disadvantage and that entering the U.S. legally makes one deserving of public benefits. By doing so, the U.S. will improve its fiscal status during times of economic hardship for all its legal citizens who are currently not receiving the full benefits of their hard earned fiscal contributions to their country.